Timon vs. Newton

Τίμων καὶ Νεύτων

Timon and Newton were arguing about fruit.
Netwon said: "I prefer the apple
since I discovered gravity while peacefully dozing
under the shade of an apple tree."
Timon shot back with stinging words:
"Newton, you're an idiot, a fool
and utterly conceited in your intelligence.
By Zeus, do you know how to bring owls to Athens!
Your argument reveals nothing new.
All the still corpses that dangled from the branches
of my fig tree fell straight to the ground,
but, unlike Icarus, not one of them ever flew away.
So, for me, the fig is what you call 'gravity,'
and next time you doze beneath a tree
I will awaken you with a barrage of apples!"

Christopher Kontonikolis was born in Athens in 1981. He studied classics and is now completing a master’s degree in Byzantine literature at the University of Athens. He has composed poems in Greek and in Ancient Greek language and meter. This is his first publication in an American journal.

Andrew Barrett is a translator and musician who lives in Rochester, NY, where he is pursuing a Master of Arts in Literary Translation degree at the University of Rochester. He is currently translating a portion of Nonnus's Dionysiaca—a lush and expansive Ancient Greek epic from Late Antiquity. Excerpts from his translation of the Dionysiaca appeared in the third issue of Anomalous Press. In June of 2011, he had the honor of working on his translation of the Dionysiaca at the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. He has also translated poems by Modern Greek poet Harris Psarras.

Like what you read? Help WWB bring you the best new writing from around the world.

Content

Follow Us

Magazine

Words without Borders opens doors to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the best international literature. Every month we publish select prose and poetry on our site. In addition we develop print anthologies, work with educators to bring literature in translation into classrooms, host events with foreign authors, and maintain an extensive archive of global writing.